CHENNAI: It was a see-saw battle if there ever was one. Two teams searching for their first win in the tourney, pressing forward and hungry for goals. Pakistan and Japan tried their best to inch ahead, and both sides looked good to win it at different stages of the game. In the end, it was a stalemate, as each team netted three goals at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Sunday.
The draw left both the teams on two points from three games with Japan in fourth spot ahead of Pakistan due to a better goal difference. It looks to be a dogfight from here on between the two teams for a semifinal spot and Pakistan's game against India on Wednesday is likely to become crucial in their quest for the berth.
On Sunday, Japan broke out of their defensive mould against India the other day, and kept counter-attacking in the quest for supremacy. Pakistan went into the lead twice courtesy goals from Abdul Rana and Muhammad Khan, but Japan came roaring back to equalise both times with Seren Tanaka and Ryosei Kato making their way to the scoresheet. Skipper Masaki Ohashi slotted in another timely strike at the fag end of the third quarter to give his side hope, but five minutes before close, Muhammad pulled off another thunderous hit to complete a fabulous brace and end the match on an even keel.
The encounter began with some closely contested exchanges in the midfield, before Rana latched on to a loose parry from Japan goalie Takashi Yoshikawa to sound the board in the ninth minute. The Japanese did not take long to fire back, as Tanaka directed Yuma Nagai's reverse hit towards the far post in the 13th minute to beat Akmal Hussain all ends up.
The tussle continued in the second quarter as field goal and penalty corner opportunities began opening up. In the 25th minute, Muhammad's drag flick deflected off Takumi Kitagawa's pads to trickle into the goal. But Japan again fought back as Takuma Niwa made a purposeful run from the right flank into the D and fed it to Kato, who made no mistake with his reverse hit in the 37th minute. Ohashi then capitalized on a stray ball in the D to put Japan ahead for the first time, but Pakistan clawed their way back in the final quarter via a PC with Muhammad smashing skipper Umar Bhutta's injection into the top right corner.
China hold Korea 1-1
The Chinese team put up a spirited performance to hold the much higher-ranked Korean side 1-1 and earn their first point in the tournament. Korean skipper Jang Jonghyun scored with a powerful drag-flick down the centre in the 18th minute to put his side ahead. But after a fair bit of defensive graft and midfield attrition, China found the equaliser in the 43rd minute courtesy Chongcong Chen's field goal and were able to hold on till the final hooter.
RESULTS: Pakistan 3 drew with Japan 3. China 1 drew with Korea 1
